Saturday, September 18, 2010

Once upon a time, Charlotte loved its pro basketball team. We threw it a parade after a last-place inaugural season. We quivered with pride at its first playoff series win. It was a prominent symbol of our new prominence as a city. We couldn’t imagine that changing.

It did, of course, and when we look back a decade to the end of the Charlotte Hornets, we usually point to owner George Shinn’s lurid sexual assault trial and his arrogant expectation of a publicly funded arena. But before all of that, something already had changed. Shinn, who began mumbling early about a better arena, had decided to let popular but expensive players go, including Alonzo Mourning. A merely good team seemed good enough for him.

It was then that we realized our pro franchise cared a little more about money than we wanted. By the time the Hornets came looking in earnest for that arena, well, Charlotte wasn’t so much in love anymore.

Today, the Carolina Panthers open their home schedule with the wrong kind of vibe. The team has spent the offseason jettisoning popular players and stashing the savings from those departures. Jerry Richardson, once the owner Charlotte could count on to not raise our eyebrows, has shoved his sons out the door and left his respected head coach a lame duck.

On the field, most experts pick the Panthers to be adequate at best, which leaves us right about where we left them, with one winning season since 2005. Except that you’ll pay more to watch, thanks to an increase in ticket prices.

Richardson has been characteristically quiet about it all, other than an interview with the team-owned Roar magazine. In that May chat, he defended the ticket increase by explaining that the Panthers’ revenues are in the bottom half of the NFL, which is a lot like complaining about living in one of the smaller houses on Queens Road West.

It could be that the team is being prudent with free agents and big contracts in the face of NFL labor uncertainty. But fan bases want their teams to be smart with money, not just thrifty – and other teams are spending, many of them smartly, to win.

The Panthers? They have the feel of a franchise that’s calculating how much it has to spend to keep its fans happy enough. The early answer from those fans: More. The team avoided a TV blackout this week by selling out hours before Thursday’s deadline – a troubling sign for a home opener.

Could Charlotte fall out of love with its pro football team? It happens. Sports industry guru Marc Ganis regularly sees complacency develop between cities and their pro franchises, even in the NFL. Often, he says, it’s because management and marketing get stale. Almost always, it’s because of this: “Expectations for success on the field aren’t met.”

All of which is standard sports page stuff – until teams start wanting some help with a stadium.

Last month, the Observer reported that Panthers President Danny Morrison had two meetings with City Manager Curt Walton. Of interest to the team is a 20-ish-acre tract of vacant land near the stadium on West Morehead Street. Could be a spot for a new stadium. Could be a place for a profitable team-owned parking lot, which the Panthers have pined for in the past.

The asking price for the land was $40 million a couple years back. It’s probably less now, and it’s available with a phone call to a commercial Realtor. So why the need to chat up the city manager? A hint: The current stadium was built with about $50 million of land and early development contributions from the city and county.

That was a good deal for Charlotte then, and it perhaps could be again when the team inevitably asks for new help. It’s difficult to imagine Charlotte losing its affection for the Panthers and Richardson, who has historically made so many right moves.

“I just don’t see the Panthers becoming complacent,” says Ganis, who is a Richardson fan.

But it happens. It happens in cities with richer sports histories and deeper-rooted fan bases. It happens because teams assume fans will always come, and that cities will always stay in love.

My own interest in any sports team in Charlotte is solely in its value as a marketing tool for Charlotte. Professional sports long ago exposed itself as nothing more than an entertainment scam that sucks $$$ out of cities and fans alike and puts an at best mediocre product on the field or floor.

So the only reason I want the Panthers or Bobcats to win is to help build the Charlotte brand, if you will. Other than that, both teams are meaningless to me and I know I am not alone.

Charlotte has carefully followed the path to success for a medium-sized American city in the late 20th century and I applaud our success. Yet here we are in the second decade of the 21st century sort of at a crossroads. I sometimes wonder if it's not time for a completely different way of thinking and doing things, especially with regard to pro sports. Maybe we could be a leader in saying that the major league franchise emperors have no clothes.

One other thing: If all pro sports become like MLB, where only wealthy big market teams win championships, why would any sane person pay to see the losers of the small-to-medium markets?

It's not a Charlotte team, it's a 2 state Carolina team. I think the numbers and the finances favor a never ending love relationship with the Carolinas. Which other teams can boast more than 15 million loyal fans? Very few can. Maybe San Diego and Chicago. Most populated states have split loyalty multiple teams, so the draw of fans per team is less than ours. Panthers have the only game in town -so to speak- but that will change as soon as Raleigh gets a team. But, for now the Panthers will always have a huge following.

Thanks, Anon 8:51, but opinion is part of my gig now. And this is a column about cities and their sports teams - and what happens when complacency starts. What do you think: Are we seeing that beginning now?

this article seems like a typical political scare tactic. i don't understand the point of it. a new stadium is probably 20 years away, if even then. shinn was a moron and wanted a new stadium in less than ten years. the jury is still out on how richardson will spend money after the labor situation ends. right now, he is just holding the party line for the sake of the owners. don't write him off yet.

I had/have no love of Shinn but he stuck it to Charlotte and is laughing all the way to the bank. He's a sleaze but he basically took his ball and went to another playground. Something is funny about the Panthers and all of the youngsters. It may be as simple as having low bills with an apparent lock out coming next year. Currently, the most exciting thing I expect this season is the mandatory fighter jet flyover tomorrow afternoon.

Y E S .....Richardson's ego and tight wallet will doom us! ....watch how he will take an active role in the lock-out....the mess with John Fox....lets see them bitch for a new stadium now...it will happen soon....I am very down on the Panthers & organization....amd I got PSL tiks....

8:57: Get a grip. If you blindly follow a team without requiring accountability, they'll pick your pocket while you're looking at the cheerleaders. I'm a longtime PSL owner who's getting fed up with paying this team over $50 a game when it's clear they don't care about winning. It's a for-profit industry bent on wringing as much from it's fans for as little as it can. I've had enough blind loyalty. If the Panthers want my support and my money, it's high time they earn it.

What great fans the Panthers have in the city of Charlotte. I have psl tickets and drive an hour and a half to the games. You can't win the division evey year. With a lock out coming next year I don't blame JR for holding payroll costs down. Stop whining and support OUR team. Go Panthers

Unfortunately, I think this sentiment is a disease. The Panthers are a god-send to this city, state, and region (to your point, much like the Hornets). Will people fall out of love? Maybe. However, there will be some, like myself, who are such avid fans that that even when they move away they get the NFL sunday ticket to ensure they don't miss a down.

You can't group Charlotteans into a group and call them "Charlotte." I grew up in town. I was born at Presbyterian... I went to high school on the south side... I went to college at Appalachian State. I am a home town boy. However, you are posting this article to several transient individuals who are less-than-loyal to NC and/or Charlotte sports.

Would we ask a die-hard Steelers fan to love their team less just because they are in Charlotte? Absolutely NOT. Just like we shouldn't ask our home-town fans to love our team less because they might go TWO STRAIGHT SEASONS without a Playoff Appearance. Come on... Let's be realistic and fair.

Go to a Browns game - see fans who aren't there for the wins or losses but for the GAME. True fans are greated out of adversity and triumph. I look forward to this season and every other...

From Ohio, I celebrate my Panthers every day. I miss my home town and my home team. I had to give up my PSLs when I moved north - so, before condemning the team and/or the fans, think of the other side - there are people OUTSIDE Charlotte who will NEVER fall out of love with the Panthers.

I think Mr. Richardson is very two faced. He loves to see the media when he is winning and the runs like heck when he has to uphold upretty decisions. Those who have been around him know his arrogance and kiss my a.. attitude.I love to see him out in his golf cart on game days and ask a tough question or two and watch him unlock his brake before Ive even finished!

Its a fact amongst the NFL that the Panthers have one of the top 10 best stadiums in the league. As an example, the Cowboys and Colts toured it when building theirs in trying to get ideas. I DID read last week or maybe the week before about the Organization looking at more land, It would be useful to them for parking...every other major stadium I have been too has at least some parking. Also strictly from a investment standpoint it would make sense. They could buy it cheap, leave it as it is for tailgaters and then sell it down the road when things get better.

The other thing about the Stadium is that in order to get a Super Bowl in Charlotte, one of the pre-req's is that the stadium needs to have a roof, retractable would be nice. I know the stadium has the ability to be converted to a done type arena, but at this stage in its life it might be worth building a new one. Hotels\Restaurants and Parking are the other things looked at. We have seen more Hotels in the area, Restaurants as well...just need a Stadium with a roof on it...

I am a die hard panther fan I have always been one and will always be one no matter were I am when I was in japan to cali to Va now in Fl I will always follow my team and love tha panthers no matter what let's get it done panthers

Don't you have to love them first to fall out of love with them? I am an avid NFL fan and the Panthers don't even register on the list of teams that I like or even find generally / consistently competitive. The are like a Triple A club that was brought up to the bigs and are trying to fit in with the big boys. Maybe someday...

I agreed with a lot of the article and as huge Panther fan, I wish there was some more spending. This year the fans are feeling the business side of the NFL and reminding us that money dominates everything. The CBA is effecting Jerry's decision to buy players and I like a guy who can actually go through with getting rid of his own sons for an upgrade. The marketing for the Panthers is as strong as ever due to the popularity of the NFL.

That is becoming the new benchmark for NFL stadiums. NY and Dallas, and soon SF, with a big public subsidy.

The clock is also ticking on the Georgia Dome, with the Falcons looking to spend around $500m. (they hope) on a new joint.

We've already heard NFL owner laments about the "game day" experience needing to be upgraded to tempt fans away from Direct TV in HD. And in CLT the idea that the stadium is about 10K seats too big has also come up.

You absolutely do hear echoes from Shinn and Hornets if you listen hard enough. I would not be surprised at all by a plan in the next five years to "upfit" and downsize BofA Stadium while grafting on some sort of year-round, revenue generating mall adjacent to the stadium.

But first the Big Cat will have to scratch out a labor deal that "protects" the small mkt. teams (remember Cincy and Buff. voted against the last labor deal) to avoid precisely the MLBing of the NFL so many fans fear.

Oh, and I think this is DeAngelo Williams' last season in Carolina. JR is not going to pay market rate for him -- again shades of Shinn letting Zo walk, which turned fans off big time.

Interesting article. I'm willing to bet, though, that as we get further into the season, it will grow far less remarkable. The fact that today’s game didn’t sell out until Thursday’s deadline doesn’t mean the sky over The Vault is falling.

Reading the title one would assume the Panthers were only a "Charlotte" team yet we know that controvery ended 15 yrs ago when Spartanburg SC owner Jerry Richardson picked the "Carolina" name but did allow the stadium to be built in downtown Charlotte. There were 5 locations being considered including one just over the state line in SC that created ill will with even the SC governor at the time. The team played at Clemson its first season in 1995 to help mend some differences.

Just ditch the ancient dead white German turned English queen name (1762 - present )and rename it: "Carolina City" similar to New York City.

This will end controvery and make the city an integral part of both states for professional sports and other purposes. North and South Carolina were originally one state "The Carolinas" (1663-1729) anyway until they split in 1729.

If they re-combine the the 2 Carolina states now there would be 14 million people as the the 4th most popululous in America and wield mucho power.

RELAX. Good post - you know why? B/c it got people talking and thinking. Good job.

I have lived here all my life and I can tell you that the Panthers (at least today's Panthers) are NOTHING like the Hornets at any point. Right after the initial "love" was gone, there were PLENTY of issues popping up...ones we have been fortunate enough to avoid (mostly - not forgetting Rae Carruth, et al). The NFL is NOT the thug-driven league of the NBA, it doesn't move as frequently for silly reasons (PS: Shinn is hardly "laughing all the way to the bank" as he has lost MILLIONS in New Orleans and is about to lose its biggest star), has an owner who is 1000x better and more respected who actually PLAYED the sport...I could go on.

The CBA issue is looming LARGE. Yes, there have been a FEW teams who have not been afraid to deal with players this year despite the looming and probably lockout. VERY few...one's with LARGE bank accounts and established (as in many more than 10 years) history in the league (i.e., die-hard, loyal fans with family history). Going into this year, as a PSL owner since Day 1, I expected only to compete and hopefully do well enough to possibly hit the playoffs. I think we all know how conservative JR is has always been with his picks/money. The "team" is MUCH more important to JR than any one player (again - NOT the reason that Shinn got "rid" of 'Zo and LJ, etc.). We NEED to rebuild, we NEED to get a number of Free Agents, we NEED (unfortunately) a new coach (NOT because he is bad - he will have 100 offers as soon as he is let go) but because we need a change in direction. With the CBA lockout probably looming, I believe he is just playing it close to the chest. Good move IMO.

Always healthy to debate - that's fine, but fans need to BREATHE. It has been ONE game. We didn't look that bad for the opening game AT the Meadowlands against a team many have picked to be pretty darn good in the NFC. RELAX. If there is anything to "worry" about - it is, unfortunately, the CBA and THAT is out of our hands. Enjoy this year...it may be our only one for a couple of years.

Peter, I will not even lower myself to read this article. It is reporters like you who have killed the news industry. All you preach is doom and gloom. You can't pick up a paper without seeing something about the end of the world. Just because we lose 1 game you think Charlotte is going to fall out of love with it's team? How long have you lived here? We lost the hornets because Shinn was sleeping around with some hooker. Please find sone NEWS to write about and stop trying to stir up trouble so people will read your articles. I for one never have and never will!

When the owner does not spend money to give the team the best opportunity to win....why should I spend my money to see a half-baked product? Percentage wise, it costs more of my annual income to go to a game than it costs Jerry to buy some free agent talent. Then, he floats the idea of a new stadium. Is he the obama of the NFL?

Actually NC taxpayers gave 50 million for road contruction around the stadium and PSLs bought it lock stock and barrell.

Where was the cost to Mecklenburg? Forget the billions and name contributed to the economy and growth etc. America didnt neve know where Charlotte NC was before the Panthers although it was birthed out of the success of Shinns NBA Hornets.

I am in the process of buying a second set of PSL's. I am having second thoughts wondering what will happen to the value of these if they build a new stadium. If this happens, I figure the most likely option will be first chance to buy the "new PSL's" at full price. Does it make sense to buy PSL's if they will be worthless in 10 years?

I've been a PSL owner since Clemson...have NEVER missed a Panthers home opener, but sold my tickets for todays game. Why? I have many of the same thoughts shared in this article. The Panthers passed on free agents that could have helped this team for the price of a song. Why should I care to support this team this season if the ownership of the Panthers doesn't show any more support for the fans to put a winning product on the field?

I don't see anything wrong with the stadium they have. Players, Coaches and owners need to get used to less. The salaries they are paid are way beyond ridiculous. Team Owners don't really deserve squat. If the Charlotte Region didn't have the population necessary to pull a successful Franchise off, I'm sure the team would be elsewhere. The race to keep building the best new stadium needs to end and start with renovation to the one the community and ticket owners helped pay for.

Professional sports teams are avatars of their fans. When the team wins, the fans win. When the team loses, the fans lose.

Hope keeps the fans coming in the inevitable down years, hope that the team (and fans) will be winners next year or the year after.

Hornets' fans lost hope when Shinn didn't pay the tab for Alonzo; Shinn showed his hand, and it was flush with hopelessness.

Richardson has spent a lot of money trying to bring a winner to Morehead St., and that is why hope lives on in the Panthers fans' heart. You cannot look at preparations for next year and divine that Richardson has now become Shinn.

The fans are tired of Fox's brand of football: its boring, and it isn't bringing more than a mediocre winning percentage. The fans want a real quarterback, a team that discovers the forward pass, an offense that can strike like lightning and make people jump up out of their seats and cheer!!

If Richardson responds to the fans and brings such a team, it shows he is still trying to bring a winner and hope will survive.

I am a PSL holder and I have been a fan from the beginning. What Richer-son has done this year is bad for the City and all of us Fans.

For him to talk about revenue being down is idiotic! We have PSLs here so we have to buy the tickets regardless of how we feel about management. We are sold out each week. Unlike other cities where the fans can protest stupid moves we are forced to buy tickets.

Jerry should appologize to the Fans that support the Panthers. You may have got them here but WE are the reason why they can stay here. DON'T FORGET THAT JERRRY!

St Onge needs to run for political office pulling figs out of the air. We know figs dont lie but liars can fig.

Where is your proof? Provide a legit link from Raleigh along with the exact figs on record in Meck.

Notwithstanding the city fought a hard battle to win the stadium. Bruton Smith wanted it inside his racetrack and was willing to pay it all. SC wanted it at Carowinds and would have paid all the bill among others.

What the hell is your baseless point? You have no valid argument here.

There will always be good seasons and bad seasons for all NFL teams. There will always be new stadiums replacing older stadiums and consideining that the average lifespan of a stadium is 30-40 years, these questions need to be asked today about our 15 year old stadium. Ther will also always be hater, especially in Charlotte, who desipse how Charlotte has become more urban and cosmopolitan and will constantly root for the failure at every turn. so what else is new?

Richardson was, is, and always will be the anti-Shinn. This is the owner who was not afraid to think big and sign key players every year, and make every effort to make the Panthers a winner. Have y'all already forgotten that thie is the same owner that put together the pieces that brought us one game short of two Superbowls and into one Superbowl within the first 10 years of the team's existance?

I beliwve Jerry richardson knows exactly what he's doing and will be considered a genius again over the next couple years. beating tampa bay would put some minds at ease today indeed, and if they do, I'm sure many of the haters here will be jumping on the bandwagon acting like they supported the team all along. Of course, a small few will still root for failure, but you can only do so much for a grinch.

I still think the bulk of Clt folks (here before 1990) could care less if there was a pro team of any type in town..(unless they are downtown land owners)...because of all the hidden costs (land/crime/traffic/etc)..especially not with the proven track record of needing a new gazzillion $$ stadium every 10 years. There is no extra money or ability to finance on this low priority luxury any more. Times have changed.

The above link is which Steve Harrison asked if we would be interested in funding a new stadium and the like. I answered that I felt the Richardsons had been fair and we should keep an open mind in the discussion.

What is up with the observer. Come on now. This guy doesnt even know what a football is. And the observer keeps bashing the panthers. Just leave them out of the stories if you cant support them. People in Charlotte love the panthers and are just hoping that we dont waste our teams talents on washed up qb's and tired offensive schemes run run pass or draw.

The "Charlotte Region" didnt have the numbers? You got that backwards. It was Charlotte who didnt have the numbers. It was the 100 mile radius "Charlotte Region" calculated by Max Muhlman that sealed the pro sports deals with a 50 million population within a 100 mile radious of Charlotte although there are prob 75 million now.

With American cities spreading most of their populations to the suburbs for decades this Max Muhlman strategy has become the new norm for all pro sports franchises allowing mid sized cities like Orlando, Jacksonville, Memphis, Nashville, Utah, Portland, Charlotte, and others to obtain pro sports teams.

Some of these idiots need to lay off Shinn. Get a life. He and he alone got the NBA here and this led to the NFL and AAA baseball. The rest is history. He was run off but def laughing all the way to the bank.

Peter's on to it. 2 weeks ago, in the Observer's Sunday paper, the article about Richardson and the player's union - it was stated the players / owners argue over how the split it the 8 billion in annual NFL revenue. Seems both sides have taken the revenue for granted - fans be damned (they are entitled to the revenue - sounds like Washingting and taxes) and when that happens the wheels come off and fans go away (and the tea party??) - just ask the Hornets, I mean the Bobcats - who were those guys anyway - NBA is history in CLT.

Selling my tickets this year and seat license after the season. I've always been a solid fan but I just wont pay $2000 per season anymore... just not worth it to see a year after year, mediocre team at best

I will always bleed black and blue. The Panthers are my team, and I will follow them in the good times and the bad. That is what being a sports fan is about. The game today was painful to watch, but I watched it because I am a Panthers fan. The bad times only make the good times so much better. Our fairweather fans bother me more than our crappy football team.

Anonymous 9-18-10 11:18 a.m. said... [It was the 100 mile radius "Charlotte Region" calculated by Max Muhlman that sealed the pro sports deals with a 50 million population within a 100 mile radious of Charlotte although there are prob 75 million now.]

Wait, what? I think you've tagged on several extra zeroes to those figures. There aren't but about 15 million folks in all of North and South Carolina combined.

"FAIR WEATHERED FANS...Charlotte has more than I have ever seen. Get a grip people...back your team and pull for them no matter what." -Anonymous

So basically you want us to purchase an inferior product for an inflated price? You, my friend, are as much a problem as the owner/management. If there were zero people in the stands management would notice. If we as fans are enablers then we are just as much to blame. I love the Panthers and I will watch every second of every game, every year. When they put an inferior product on the field I will not "buy" the Panthers. I will not go to a game and I will not buy merchandise. They will not make money off of me while they ruin my Sundays.

good article but its a shame it got lost to all the political BS and hatred surrounding the CO.

i for one am getting very sick of seeing the mediocre product that has become carolina panther football. the players dont seem motivated, the coach acts like he has something better he could be doing and we the fans get stuck with the bill. ive made it to at least 1 game every season sometimes 5-6 games a year but its no longer a priority for me any longer. ive walked out of BOA stadium with the mindset that i just wasted another sunday afternoon and another $200 so many times its not even funny anymore. plain and simple the product on the field is no longer worth the price and until that changes the panthers will continue to lose lifelong fans like myself.

Richardson is prob even more sick of all these mediocre sunshine fans who do nothing but bitch and whine but they bitched and whined about Shinn not spending money and ran him off. They ran off all the decent QBs starting with Collins, Weinke and Delhome. Never ends.

JR is living on borrowed time anyway with his new used heart and when he dies his sons will def move on to more money in LA, Vegas or maybe even Raleigh or Columbia and then fans can be happy they wont have to bitch and whine about those damn losing Panthers anymore.

Great job Peter. You nailed it. More needs to be written about how Jerry Richardson has been focused on this labor situation at the expense of his team. Field basically what has become a team of inexperienced, low salaried players and at he same time raise ticket prices. Great marketing strategy JR. I gave up my PSLs rather than pay the increase. I have no problem with an increase just not when your gutting the roster to prepare for labor issues. Bad move.

Eastland Mall went kaput, The Hornets up and disappeared in the middle of the night, and now there is talk of The Panthers not being the darlings of The Carolinas any longer...What is this world coming to when everything that made Charlotte a great place to visit or live near at one time or another has vanished into thin air? I hope The Panthers can still pull it out. I have been pulling for Matt Moore for a long time now and even he seems to have a black cloud hanging over his head...Maybe Jimmy Clausen will be the Saviour that nether Matt nor Jake could be...